


By Any Other Name

by Emulator42



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Eventual Sex, M/M, Slow Build, if I can manage the suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:08:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3468785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emulator42/pseuds/Emulator42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are few things in this world that Hikaru hates. He prides himself in his maturity and cool demeanor, but there's two things that really get to him: nicknames, and that annoying ensign that always uses them.</p>
<p>AKA The One Where Sulu Doesn't Understand Russian Naming Conventions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I made a long ass post on tumblr about Russian diminutives which required A LOT of research, so I thought I'd put my new knowledge to good use.

Hikaru hated nicknames. He had been dubbed Hiki at a young age, as soon as his sister Yuki got old enough to understand proper nouns. He hated it.

In elementary school he became Sword Boy. While the other kids went through little league and martial arts, Hikaru had begged his dad to let him sign up for fencing. His skill gained him reverence on the playground. He always got to play the part of the pirate captain or the daring knight, but the little blonde girl that sat across from him in home room only addressed his valentine with the monicker. He realized none of them could be bothered to remember his non-standard name, and he hated it.

In middle school he was known as Nerd. His excellence in the xenobiology class at the beginning of sixth grade earned him that one for a whole three years. Needless to say, he hated it.

In highschool it was Flyboy. He had filled out his lanky frame the summer before freshman year, and now he couldn't be dismissed with a common category. Instead, his peers drew from his talent in flight simulators. He was the champion of the school shuttle racing team, and he lost his virginity the night after their first race, fumbling around with the team captain in the back of the small craft. As they pushed each other over the edge, Hikaru had moaned the boy's name, only to hear the response, "You're damn hot, Flyboy." He hated it.

At Starfleet he was Sulu. It was technically his name, but most of the cadets addressed each other with first names. His refusal of the Red Squad membership earned him a sort of street cred, and his fellow cadets decided he was too cool for first names. He still hated it.

On the Enterprise, he finally found satisfaction. He was Lieutenant, Sulu, and finally Hikaru. The alpha shift addressed him by first name when they were off duty, and he finally felt he was part of a group. He made friends with almost everyone instantly. Except the goddamn navigator.

"Hima!" He felt a weight hit his back as his coworker slung his arm around Hikaru's shoulders. Hikaru ground his teeth.

"Yes, Pavel?"

"Nyosha has found a nice bar on Roya Twelve, and I am thinking we will go there in our shore leave."

"You can't even drink."

"I can drink on Roya Twelve." Pavel's stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. Hikaru held back a smirk of satisfaction from annoying the ensign. He was too young to be on a starship, really, and Hikaru loved reminding him of that. If he didn't insist on acting like such a kid, he wouldn't mind as much, but the ensign was always bouncing around and coming up with little pet names. He reminded Hikaru of Yuki when she was in high school.

"Maybe." Hikaru rolled his eyes as Pavel left him alone, being satisfied with the answer. He turned his attention back to the controls, relieving the delta shift pilot and sliding comfortably into his familiar seat.

"Alright, crew." Kirk strode confidently onto the bridge. "We're nearing Roya Twelve, and our first shore leave on our away mission. I know it's exciting, but no slacking off until we're safe on the ground. Roya's atmosphere is known for its strange ionic interferences."

"Leaving warp soon, Captain." Hikaru interrupted. He switched the proper switches and eased up on the warp drive. "In three... two... one." The smear of stars solidified into singular points and they found themselves just outside of Roya Twelve's atmosphere, the space dock looming just outside the viewport.

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Kirk said. Hikaru eased into the station, locking the ship into Roya's dock. It was carefully placed just outside the interference range of the ionic anomalies. "Alright," Kirk clapped his hands together as Hikaru finished the docking. "Alpha shift, report to the transporter room to be beamed down. You're first on shore leave."

 

Hikaru leaned back against the cool granite of the bar, careful not to knock over his beer with the elbow he slung behind him. Bones and Scotty sat to his right, laughing too loudly as they cradled their Romulan Ale. They were all still in uniform, with the exception of the navigator, who was chatting animatedly with Nyota to Hikaru's Left. Pavel was wearing jeans and a clean white shirt, which stretched across his chest nicely. Hikaru had to admit, it made him look older.

"Hima! Nyosha and me will dance. Are you going to come?" The illusion shattered as Pavel stood up, bouncing up on the balls of his feet.

"Nah, I'm good."

"You are none fun."

"No fun?"

"See? You are proving my point." Pavel pouted. Hikaru tried not to roll his eyes. He really tried.

"I'm fun." Hikaru insisted. "But I'm also smart enough to know that dancing in a bar at seven o'clock is not even remotely cool."

"Cool?" Pavel tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "I see. Himon is too cool for us, Nyoshenka." He took Nyota's hand, leading her into the seething crowd on the dance floor, leaving Hikaru to wonder if Pavel was just making up words.

"Himon?" he muttered to himself. Was that Russian for something? Hikaru sighed and turned to talk to Bones, only to find the doctor sobbing in Scotty's arms, a pile of empty glasses on the bar. He rolled his eyes again, searching instead for Spock and Jim. Alas, the two seemed to have disappeared. Oh well. He didn't need familiar faces. He was at a goddamn bar. All be needed was his starfleet uniform and some classic pilot charm. Hikaru downed the rest of his beer, standing up from the bar stool and making his way through the crowd in search of someone cute to talk to. As he wriggled through the sea of bodies, he spotted a pretty Andorian girl sitting alone at a table, nursing a fancy looking cocktail.

"Is this seat taken?" Hikaru emerged from the crowd, gesturing to the second chair at the small table. The girl looked up, tossing aside her locks of white hair to peer up at Hikaru through long lashes. Her eyes flicked across his body, before she smiled flirtatiously and shook her head.

"Have a seat." He sat down smoothly, leaning forward on the table and making sure his sleeve ribbons were in plain view. She looked appraisingly at his rank.

"Lieutenant, huh?"

"What? Oh, the sleeves, right. Yeah, I'm on the USS Enterprise." Hikaru waved a casual hand. The Andorian raised an eyebrow,

"From the Vulcan incident? Impressive."

"Oh, I'm just the pilot. I only got a few of Nero's crew, really."

"You mean you were there?" Her eyes widened, and Hikaru knew he'd snagged her. He opened his mouth to chat, but he was interrupted by a familiarly accented voice.

"Hima! I was thinking you are being cool at the bar. You are not!" Pavel made the Andorian girl jump as he popped out of the crowd suddenly. Hikaru let an audible groan slip out.

"What do you want, Pavel?"

"Nyosha is getting me drinks."

"I think you mean drink. Singular."

"I do not." The Andorian girl giggled. Hikaru clenched his teeth.

"Well what do you want from me?"

"You say you are cool, da? You are too-cool-for-Pasha Himon. I am challenging you."

"Challenging me?"

"With vodka."

"Oh." Hikaru gulped. He was horrible at holding his liquor. "I... No."

"So you admit you are not cool."

"Sure, whatever."

"We will raise the stakes." Pavel turned to the Andorion girl. "You are very beautiful. Will you sleep with Hima if he will win? He is a pilot. Very good with hands." The ensign made a rude gestures to demonstrate. The Andorian girl giggled again, sounding slightly nervous.

"What, like a prize?"

"Da, this is it exactly." Pavel nodded excitedly. Hikaru wondered if such directness was common in Russia. The girl shifted uncomfortably, and he decided to come to her rescue.

"No, I'll do it. You don't have to bribe me, I'll do it." He regretted it immediately as Pavel's eyes lit up with something more complicated than simple excitement. The glint in his green eyes was almost sinister.

Nyota squeezed through the crowd, emerging with two shot glasses and a bottle of vodka. The Andorian girl left her seat, mumbling something about seeing a friend, and Pavel claimed the chair immediately.

"Alright, first one to puke, pass out, or give up loses." Nyota poured the first shot. "On your mark, get set, go." They downed the first shots together, Pavel's face remaining inscrutable while Hikaru concealed a grimace at the strong taste. Nyota poured a new shot quickly, slipping some of the drink onto the table. Again they drank in sync, Pavel's face still eerily passive. Nyota refilled the glasses again.

"How much beers were you having?" Pavel asked after the third shot. Hikaru knew he was stalling, trying to get the alcohol to kick in. He downed his own shot, then answered.

"Two. I had two beers."

"Then I will take two more shots." Pavel nodded to himself, holding out his glass for Nyota to fill. She poured him one. He downed it. She poured him another. He downed it. Hikaru watched, waiting to see if Pavel would be affected. He felt the alcohol start to take effect on his own body, a warm tingling spreading through his limbs. Nyota refilled both glasses and he swallowed the shot, more adapted to the taste now.

"You're going down." Hikaru was painfully aware of the beginning of numbness in his face. Luckily, it hadn't affected his ability to shit talk yet.

"Nyet. You are the one that is going down." Pavel downed the next shot. Hikaru hadn't raven realized they had been refilled.

"No way. I've been drinking for like..." Hikaru tried to count the years as he drank the next shot, but the sentence faded from his mind. "You're a baby. I can out-drink a baby."

"You are the baby." Pavel narrowed his eyes, and Hikaru knew he'd struck a nerve.

"I'm not the one with the stupid nicknames for everyone."

"What is this? A nickname?"

"It's uh..." Hikaru trailed off again. He looked up at Pavel, who downed another shot, then looked at him expectantly. Shit, what question was he supposed to answer? Hikaru drank his own shot, letting the question stay unanswered. His words were starting to slur together, his face becoming numb. Pavel's cheeks and nose were a light pink.

"You are drunk." Pavel giggled. Hikaru felt himself smile at the infectious sound.

"No. You're drunk." He pointed suddenly at Pavel, knocking over his shot glass, which Nyota refilled for him, a smile on her face. Hikaru clumsily downed the shot, spilling some of the vodka down his shirt. Almost everything in front of him was blurred, except for Pavel's flushed face. The ensign's lips were shining pink as well, wet from the vodka. Hikaru wondered what if would be like to kiss them.

That was the last thing he remembered. 


End file.
